I attended TBS from 1971 to 1980 and still keep in touch with Christina Roberston and Patricia Alcantara. I recognised several people in the TAABS News and would love to get in touch them. I now live in the States. I studied graphic design at Parson’s in New York and now live in New Jersey with my husband Jim. I have three sons, one of whom is in university! Yikes! Anyway, I still speak Portuguese with my Brazilian friends and miss Brazil very much. I still visit Chile because my parents live there and will have to pop over soon. If you remember Michelle and would like to get in touch with her, please email Adriana Andrade at aandrade@britishschool.g12.br

Dimitrios James Chirivas Manoukis’94 and Molly Jean Bettinger were married Oct. 18, 2003, in an outdoor ceremony at the Endwell Greens Country Club, Endwell – New York-USA. The bride is the daughter of Patrick and Carolyn Bettinger, of Lacona. The groom is the son of Chrysanthi Fairchild, of Brooklyn, and the late Demosthenes Manoukis. Matron of honour was Rachel Dingman, sister of the bride. Nicholas Manoukis’92, brother of the groom, was best man. It was great to have news from Dimi! Congratulations and all the best to the Manoukis family!

It was a perfect setting: a sunny – but cool – Saturday morning, a smooth pitch and a football. Parents, teachers, students, exstudents and even aggregates* joined in to play in the First Founder’s Day Football Mini-Tournament. Four, teams one dream: the privilege to be called the best in school! The mini-tournament consisted of two semi-final matches, one thirdplace match and the Grand Finale! In the first match of the day, the Alumni Falcons Team (former Falcon Team) played against a mixed Ex-Student-Teacher-Parent-Aggregates Team and came out with a close victory 2 x 0 thanks to the fantastic saves by Alex, the Ex- Student-Teacher-Parent-Aggregates Team goalkeeper! After the match, this is what one unidentified teacher had to say “We did not lose! We just did not win!!” That just about sums it all up! In the second match of the day, the Current Falcons Team faced a mixed Current Student-Teacher Team. The Current Falcons came out with an exciting victory 3 x 1 to reach the much anticipated Final Match-up against the Alumni Falcons Team. In the battle for the honorable 3rd Place, the mixed Ex-Student- Teacher-Parent-Aggregates Team counted on some new and rested starters to try and stop the dynamic Current Student-Teacher Team. That didn’t seem to intimidate the fast and young students who came out with their first victory of the day, 2 x 1 to earn 3rd Place. The Grand Finale was a true battle! The referee, somewhat distracted in the first two matches, had to keep a close attention at all times! The game was well played, with hard, but clean plays by both teams. After two 20-minute periods, the Alumni Falcons Team came out with a slight edge to beat the Current Falcons Team 2 x 1 in a thrilling finale to win the First Founder’s Day Football Mini-Tournament. In the end, great sportsmanship prevailed and both teams recognized each others strengths! After the matches the general feeling was “Why don’t we do this more often!?” cried Igor Santa-Maria’94. “When is the next school event? We need another football tournament!” concluded Marcelo Sá’96.

TAABS has promised to organize another football tournament in the next school event, as well as promoting more integration between ex-students and the school community. This friendly atmosphere is what The British School has that is so special. We ought to nurture this more often! Thank you to all of you who, current students and alumni, families and friends, were present at the event and have been supporting TBS and TAABS always!

Rafael Mellin’96 and Roberta Cunha got married on April 21st 2007 at the Paroquia Nossa Senhora da Conceiçãoo – Gávea – Rio de Janeiro and then celebrated their union, with family and friends, at the Clube dos Caiçaras – Lagoa – RJ. Many classmates and friends from other year groups at TBS joined in to celebrate the matrimony. We all wish lots of happiness to the young couple!

Eduardo Nunes’94 Sasha – Rafael Nunes’97 and Pedro Arieira’01 on the far left

I graduated from The British School in 2001. From there I went to Baltimore, Maryland – USA, to study Biology/ Pre-Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. By my second year I decided to change my “Major” from Biology to Economics, and the University of Maryland was a better institution for that. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Maryland in January of 2006, then went back to Brazil for a year to work. In December, I applied to Graduate Studies programs in 9 universities across the United States. My first choice was Berkeley, which I unfortunately was not accepted for, but a few weeks ago I received a letter offering me a Fellowship for my second choice, Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois, about 30 minutes away from Chicago. The PhD I will pursue is in Political Science, or more specifically, in International Relations. University rankings vary a lot, but Northwestern usually ranks in the Top20, but the Department, especially in International Relations, is evaluated as a top 5 program. Since I don’t have a Master’s degree yet, it should take 5 to 6 years to complete both. The Fellowship they offer is of 20 thousand dollars of stipend for 9 months out of each year, with additional funds available if I choose to stay for the Summer. The Fellowship package also pays for all my tuition and fees costs, as well as medical insurance. During my first year I don’t have to do anything to maintain the offer (apart from keeping a B average), but in the 2-4th years I have to be a Teaching Assistant and teach 10-20 hours a week. This isn’t such a heavy burden either, considering that it will be very helpful if I decide to follow a Tenure track academic career and teach for a living after I complete the PhD. Classes start on the 17th of September. While I am very much looking forward to them, I can’t help but be scared of the weather. Everyone I talk to speaks highly of Chicago and Northwestern, but they all warn me of how cold and bleak the city can get during the longish cold season. I guess Chicago isn’t as pleasant as Berkeley as far as weather goes, but I heard that it makes up for it in matters of Culture and Entertainment, so the solution is to buy myself a heavy jacket and “suck it up”. Eduardo Nunes’94 Although I left The British School just before taking the IGCSE’s, in 1992, to move to the United States, I have always considered myself an honorary member of the alumni club – so much so, that my classmate Adriana Nogueira de Andrade’94 has validated my presumption by inviting me to submit an update on my life for the Falcon (alongside my brother Pedro’s update.) So, here goes: After moving to the United States, I went to a public high school just outside of Washington, DC, that offered the I.B. curriculum. So, I was spared the cruel fate of not obtaining the baccalaureate. I graduated with a degree in English literature from a small liberal arts school in Wooster, OH named (surprisingly) the College of Wooster. After college, I moved back to the Washington, DC region. For the past several years, I have been working as the Director of Standards and International Affairs at the American Association of Blood Banks. It’s not exactly the same as writing about James Joyce, but sometimes the level of linguistic complexity is comparable. A few years ago, we obtained funding via the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to do HIV-relief work in Africa, and I have had the opportunity to travel to Mozambique and Rwanda to work on standards-setting projects. In addition, work has taken me to Mexico, England, Spain, the Netherlands, and of course, Brazil, as I had the opportunity to speak at a conference sponsored by the Hemocentro of Ribeirão Preto. Last April, I got married to my long-time girlfriend, Sasha Sutherland. We live happily, with our two cats, in the Adams Morgan neighbourhood of Washington DC (practically next door to a Brazilian restaurant called “The Grill from Ipanema” and I am not making that name up!) As soon as we figure out how to fit all of the wedding presents into our apartment, we’ll probably have to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives, I guess…